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Shein, the Chinese fast fashion giant, explained

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If you’ve spent some time scrolling and shopping on TikTok, you’re probably familiar with the fashion retailer Shein. From personal experience, however, “familiar” doesn’t properly contextualize how pervasive the brand is, at least online. Perhaps a more accurate description is: I am haunted by Shein. As a consumer who falls squarely within the brand’s target demographic — a woman in her 20s, who buys most of her clothes online — I encounter Shein-related content almost daily, algorithmically fed to me through Instagram advertisements, YouTube hauls, and viral TikTok recommendations.
Shein’s ubiquity, most notably on TikTok, has catapulted the retailer to cult status among young women across the globe. And while Shein is based out of China, it ships to 220 countries, with the US serving as its largest consumer market. In June, Shein overtook Amazon for the first time on the iOS App Store to become the leading US shopping app, a title it holds in over 50 countries. This comes after a pandemic year of record-breaking sales: Shein raked in close to <a href="https://www.businessoffashion.com/news/china/cross-border-fast-fashion-giant-shein-takes-aim-at-premium-segment">$10 billion in 2020</a>, which was reportedly its eighth consecutive year of revenue growth over 100 percent. The retailer is also one of the <a href="https://www.digitalinformationworld.com/2021/04/analysis-shows-most-talked-about-brands.html">most talked-about brands</a> on TikTok and YouTube, and the <a data-cdata="{"rewritten_url":"https://go.redirectingat.com?id=66960X1516588\u0026xs=1\u0026url=https://www.similarweb.com/top-websites/category/lifestyle/fashion-and-apparel/\u0026referrer=vox.com\u0026sref=https://www.vox.com/the-goods/22573682/shein-future-of-fast-fashion-explained\u0026xcust=___vx__p_22337723__m_m-placeholder__s_s-placeholder__t_w__c_c-placeholder__r_r-placeholder__d_d-placeholder","subtag_max_length":50,"subtag_delim_length":3,"subtag_key":"xcust","subtag_data":{"id":"66960X1516588","xs":"1","url":"https://www.similarweb.com/top-websites/category/lifestyle/fashion-and-apparel/","referrer":"vox.com","sref":"https://www.vox.com/the-goods/22573682/shein-future-of-fast-fashion-explained","xcust":"___vx__p_22337723__m_m-placeholder__s_s-placeholder__t_w__c_c-placeholder__r_r-placeholder__d_d-placeholder"},"encode_subtag":false}" has-subtag="true" href="https://go.redirectingat.com/?id=66960X1516588&xs=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.similarweb.com%2Ftop-websites%2Fcategory%2Flifestyle%2Ffashion-and-apparel%2F&referrer=vox.com&sref=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.vox.com%2Fthe-goods%2F22573682%2Fshein-future-of-fast-fashion-explained" rel="sponsored nofollow noopener" target="_blank">most visited</a> fashion and apparel site in the world, according to the web analytics platform Similarweb. Shein had enough in its coffers to place a bid to <a href="https://sourcingjournal.com/topics/retail/shein-topshop-arcadia-next-plc-administration-topman-abg-frasers-256953/">buy Topshop</a> in January, which it ultimately lost to Asos.
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
This SHEIN app is injurious to my bank balance
— Khaveesha (@khaveesha) <a href="https://twitter.com/khaveesha/status/1414514671005048832?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 12, 2021</a></blockquote>
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Shein has collaborated with well-known musicians (Katy Perry, Nick Jonas, Lil Nas X, Tinashe) for concerts and events and, like its trendy competitors, has sponsored influencers (Addison Rae) and created capsule collections with D-list reality TV stars (The Bachelor’s Hannah Godwin, The Only Way Is Essex’s Amber Turner). But Shein isn’t a brand made for and peddled by the rich and famous. In fact, it has cemented its reputation among regular people, particularly Gen Z shoppers, who promote the brand through unsponsored clothing hauls and outfit posts on social media. Friends and coworkers have recommended Shein swimwear and dresses to me in casual conversation, over text and even on Slack. On TikTok, a recent crowd favorite is <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@theliannicole/video/6954119898528337157">Shein’s cross-wrap crop top</a> — a $13 garment that resembles a halter top, but with a strategically placed cutout that reveals extra cleavage.
There are tens of thousands of styles on the retailer’s site, and each day, about 1,000 more are added. For context, this production pace is even speedier than the “ultra-fast” sites that dominate fast fashion’s Instagram era; Missguided and Fashion Nova, for example, reportedly release about 1,000 new styles a week. Shein’s business model, like that of its fast forebears, abides by the tenet that more is better, that excess can be made accessible through mysteriously low prices, with little care for environmental costs or transparency about its labor force.
A skilled Shein shopper can theoretically buy an entire outfit, accessories and shoes included, for $30 or less. In fact, there are entire sections on the site that help customers clinch the cheapest deals: A shopper can browse for <a data-cdata="{"rewritten_url":"https://go.redirectingat.com?id=66960X1516588\u0026xs=1\u0026url=https://us.shein.com/sale/US-Tops-Under-5-99-sc-00503569.html?ici=us_tab01navbar06menu03dir01\u0026scici=navbar_WomenHomePage~~tab01navbar06menu03dir01~~6_3_1~~itemPicking_00503569~~~~0\u0026srctype=category\u0026userpath=category%3ETOPS%3EUnder%20%245.99\u0026referrer=vox.com\u0026sref=https://www.vox.com/the-goods/22573682/shein-future-of-fast-fashion-explained\u0026xcust=___vx__p_22337723__m_m-placeholder__s_s-placeholder__t_w__c_c-placeholder__r_r-placeholder__d_d-placeholder","subtag_max_length":50,"subtag_delim_length":3,"subtag_key":"xcust","subtag_data":{"id":"66960X1516588","xs":"1","url":"https://us.shein.com/sale/US-Tops-Under-5-99-sc-00503569.html?ici=us_tab01navbar06menu03dir01\u0026scici=navbar_WomenHomePage~~tab01navbar06menu03dir01~~6_3_1~~itemPicking_00503569~~~~0\u0026srctype=category\u0026userpath=category%3ETOPS%3EUnder%20%245.99","referrer":"vox.com","sref":"https://www.vox.com/the-goods/22573682/shein-future-of-fast-fashion-explained","xcust":"___vx__p_22337723__m_m-placeholder__s_s-placeholder__t_w__c_c-placeholder__r_r-placeholder__d_d-placeholder"},"encode_subtag":false}" has-subtag="true" href="https://go.redirectingat.com/?id=66960X1516588&xs=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Fus.shein.com%2Fsale%2FUS-Tops-Under-5-99-sc-00503569.html%3Fici%3Dus_tab01navbar06menu03dir01%26scici%3Dnavbar_WomenHomePage~~tab01navbar06menu03dir01~~6_3_1~~itemPicking_00503569~~~~0%26srctype%3Dcategory%26userpath%3Dcategory%253ETOPS%253EUnder%2520%25245.99&referrer=vox.com&sref=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.vox.com%2Fthe-goods%2F22573682%2Fshein-future-of-fast-fashion-explained" rel="sponsored nofollow noopener" target="_blank">tops under $5.99</a>, <a data-cdata="{"rewritten_url":"https://go.redirectingat.com?id=66960X1516588\u0026xs=1\u0026url=https://us.shein.com/sale/US-Dress-all-under-9-99-sc-00503602.html?ici=us_tab01navbar05menu04dir01\u0026scici=navbar_WomenHomePage~~tab01navbar05menu04dir01~~5_4_1~~itemPicking_00503602~~~~0\u0026srctype=category\u0026userpath=category%3EDRESSES%3EAll%20under%20%249.99\u0026referrer=vox.com\u0026sref=https://www.vox.com/the-goods/22573682/shein-future-of-fast-fashion-explained\u0026xcust=___vx__p_22337723__m_m-placeholder__s_s-placeholder__t_w__c_c-placeholder__r_r-placeholder__d_d-placeholder","subtag_max_length":50,"subtag_delim_length":3,"subtag_key":"xcust","subtag_data":{"id":"66960X1516588","xs":"1","url":"https://us.shein.com/sale/US-Dress-all-under-9-99-sc-00503602.html?ici=us_tab01navbar05menu04dir01\u0026scici=navbar_WomenHomePage~~tab01navbar05menu04dir01~~5_4_1~~itemPicking_00503602~~~~0\u0026srctype=category\u0026userpath=category%3EDRESSES%3EAll%20under%20%249.99","referrer":"vox.com","sref":"https://www.vox.com/the-goods/22573682/shein-future-of-fast-fashion-explained","xcust":"___vx__p_22337723__m_m-placeholder__s_s-placeholder__t_w__c_c-placeholder__r_r-placeholder__d_d-placeholder"},"encode_subtag":false}" has-subtag="true" href="https://go.redirectingat.com/?id=66960X1516588&xs=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Fus.shein.com%2Fsale%2FUS-Dress-all-under-9-99-sc-00503602.html%3Fici%3Dus_tab01navbar05menu04dir01%26scici%3Dnavbar_WomenHomePage~~tab01navbar05menu04dir01~~5_4_1~~itemPicking_00503602~~~~0%26srctype%3Dcategory%26userpath%3Dcategory%253EDRESSES%253EAll%2520under%2520%25249.99&referrer=vox.com&sref=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.vox.com%2Fthe-goods%2F22573682%2Fshein-future-of-fast-fashion-explained" rel="sponsored nofollow noopener" target="_blank">dresses under $9.99</a>, and <a data-cdata="{"rewritten_url":"https://go.redirectingat.com?id=66960X1516588\u0026xs=1\u0026url=https://us.shein.com/sale/US-All-Under-5-sc-00505810.html?ici=us_tab01navbar10menu02dir01\u0026scici=navbar_WomenHomePage~~tab01navbar10menu02dir01~~10_2_1~~itemPicking_00505810~~~~0\u0026srctype=category\u0026userpath=category%3ESALE%3EAll%20under%20%245\u0026referrer=vox.com\u0026sref=https://www.vox.com/the-goods/22573682/shein-future-of-fast-fashion-explained\u0026xcust=___vx__p_22337723__m_m-placeholder__s_s-placeholder__t_w__c_c-placeholder__r_r-placeholder__d_d-placeholder","subtag_max_length":50,"subtag_delim_length":3,"subtag_key":"xcust","subtag_data":{"id":"66960X1516588","xs":"1","url":"https://us.shein.com/sale/US-All-Under-5-sc-00505810.html?ici=us_tab01navbar10menu02dir01\u0026scici=navbar_WomenHomePage~~tab01navbar10menu02dir01~~10_2_1~~itemPicking_00505810~~~~0\u0026srctype=category\u0026userpath=category%3ESALE%3EAll%20under%20%245","referrer":"vox.com","sref":"https://www.vox.com/the-goods/22573682/shein-future-of-fast-fashion-explained","xcust":"___vx__p_22337723__m_m-placeholder__s_s-placeholder__t_w__c_c-placeholder__r_r-placeholder__d_d-placeholder"},"encode_subtag":false}" has-subtag="true" href="https://go.redirectingat.com/?id=66960X1516588&xs=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Fus.shein.com%2Fsale%2FUS-All-Under-5-sc-00505810.html%3Fici%3Dus_tab01navbar10menu02dir01%26scici%3Dnavbar_WomenHomePage~~tab01navbar10menu02dir01~~10_2_1~~itemPicking_00505810~~~~0%26srctype%3Dcategory%26userpath%3Dcategory%253ESALE%253EAll%2520under%2520%25245&referrer=vox.com&sref=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.vox.com%2Fthe-goods%2F22573682%2Fshein-future-of-fast-fashion-explained" rel="sponsored nofollow noopener" target="_blank">clearance items under $5</a>. The wardrobe possibilities, it seems, are endless. One Twitter user <a href="https://twitter.com/tweetshaeee/status/1412478506940784641">recently observed</a> that $280 spent on Shein can create a year’s worth of outfits.
Yet Shein’s emergence as a fast fashion juggernaut can’t solely be attributed to the price of its clothing or its ubiquitous internet presence. The retailer is also nowhere to be found in the physical world — at least not in brick-and-mortar stores, although it has previously hosted in-person pop-up events. Shein appeared to have sprung out of thin air into the mainstream, unlike fast fashion’s old guards, whose spacious, brightly lit stores were proof of their dominance. Yet, Shein is so far ahead of competitors like H&M, Zara, and Asos, according to an <a href="https://blog.apptopia.com/shein-accelerates-app-growth">analysis by Apptopia</a>, that it’s difficult to compare them.
So what makes Shein so special? The answer might seem simple (two words: supply chains), if not for its influence over ever-changing trends and its impact on fashion consumption. There’s no doubt that it’s Shein’s world, and we’re just shopping in it.
Shein was first launched in 2008 under the domain SheInside, as a site that sold wedding dresses and women’s fashion geared toward US and English-language shoppers. The retailer was started in Nanjing, a province in China, by entrepreneur Chris Xu, who specialized in search engine optimization marketing. Xu has yet to publicly express any interest in women’s fashion or clothing design (granted, it doesn’t seem like he has done many interviews in English); his expertise lies in SEO and brand marketing, key factors that have contributed to Shein’s online popularity.
During Shein’s early years, there was very little that distinguished the brand from other Chinese e-commerce retailers, except that it sold wedding gowns. According to reporting from <a href="https://pandayoo.com/2021/02/18/an-incomplete-business-story-about-shein/">PandaYoo</a>, an English-language site published by Chinese bloggers, Shein sourced its products from China’s wholesale clothing market in Guangzhou, a region where many Chinese garment factories and markets are centralized. Shein wasn’t involved in any aspect of garment design or manufacturing. It operated much like a dropshipping business that sells products from third-party wholesalers directly to overseas shoppers.
It wasn’t until 2014 that Shein began to acquire its own supply chain system, transforming itself into a fully integrated retailer. That year, it purchased Romwe, another Chinese e-commerce retailer. By 2015, the company had <a href="https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/sheinside-changes-its-brand-name-as-well-as-its-domain-name-to-shein-300100667.html">shortened its domain name</a> to Shein, a move that reportedly made the brand more memorable and searchable for shoppers. Yet, prior to these major changes in 2014, the company had a decent online presence and enough customers to expand its operations. It was an early adopter of social media marketing, partnering with <a href="http://www.fashionandcookies.com/2012/12/sheinside-christmas-giveaway.html">fashion bloggers for giveaways</a> and promoting products on <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20130211115654/https://www.facebook.com/Sheinside">Facebook</a>, Instagram, and <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20120510072308/www.pinterest.com/sheinside">Pinterest</a> as far back as 2012.
Throughout the early 2010s, Shein launched overseas sites in Spain, France, Russia, Italy, and Germany, and began selling cosmetics, shoes, bags, and jewelry, in addition to womenswear. According to a translated article from the Chinese tech site <a href="https://kr-asia.com/decoding-shein-growing-pains-and-bitter-splits-part-2-of-3">LatePost</a>, by 2016, Xu had assembled a team of 800 designers and prototypers, dedicated to rapidly producing Shein-branded clothes. Shein also began honing its supply chain, cutting out suppliers that produced “mediocre-quality products or images,” according to a 2016 <a href="https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/sheincom-cuts-out-mediocre-suppliers-300259248.html">press release</a>.
By 2017, the present-day iteration of Shein had begun to take shape. The brand advertised on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YFJclVva0HE">daytime television shows</a> in the US, and fashion influencers showcased Shein products and hauls <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nOlA1GRmStA">alongside other retailers</a>, like Fashion Nova and Zaful. It was, however, the retailer’s early use of TikTok and ability to market <a href="https://www.vox.com/the-goods/22555723/tiktok-viral-products-cerave-sky-high-mascara-amazon-leggings">viral products</a> that skyrocketed Shein’s popularity.
While venture capitalists and tech entrepreneurs tout Shein as the future of fashion, the company’s rise didn’t occur in a vacuum. Its success is predicated on a confluence of factors, from geopolitical trade policies to a decades-old, disaggregated global fashion ecosystem.
The fast fashion business model was pioneered in the 1990s by the founder of Inditex, the parent company of Spanish retailer Zara. Zara notoriously abandoned the concept of fashion seasons for a year-long cycle of production, which introduced customers to novel items every few weeks. Its success prompted other Western designers and retailers — H&M and Forever 21, to name two — to follow its lead into the next decade. Retailers migrated most of their manufacturing process overseas to countries with lax labor laws, where wages can be low and working overtime (without additional pay) is common. This, of course, made fashion companies more profitable, as shoppers became hooked on a cycle of novelty. But soon, things were about to get even faster.
Toward the tail end of the 2010s, “ultra-fast” fashion brands — Asos, Boohoo, Fashion Nova, and now Shein — emerged as viable competitors to the dominant fashion empires of the previous decade. Last October, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-inditex-challengers-focus/chinas-turbo-charged-online-fashion-takes-on-zara-and-hm-idUSKBN27034K?il=0">Reuters reported</a> that investors think “Zara … is going to be crushed by fast fashion 2.0.” These ultra-fast fashion companies are able to reach millions of young shoppers directly through social media without the need for physical retail space, and relied on search traffic and customer data to foreshadow trends.
But by virtue of Shein’s location and software technology, the retailer developed a speedy edge on its competitors. Matthew Brennan, a Beijing-based writer and analyst of Chinese technology, likened its pace to “real-time” retail. That means Shein is constantly gathering and analyzing customer data and uses that knowledge to craft new designs — within as little as three days.
“Each new design is basically a bet because Shein can estimate how well a product is going to do, but it doesn’t know for sure until it sells,” Brennan explained. “Compared to its fast fashion competitors, Shein is able to take more bets, but at a lower risk. It’s able to place very small initial orders with these factories, about 100 or even smaller.” These batches were much smaller than Zara’s and that of ultra-fast fashion retailers like Boohoo, which reportedly ordered about <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2021/03/ultra-fast-fashion-is-eating-the-world/617794/">300 to 500 units per style</a>. If a specific top goes viral overnight on TikTok, for example, Shein will be able to instantaneously ramp up production on the garment and place additional orders depending on demand.
Shein has spent years cultivating relationships with Chinese garment factories and manufacturers, whereas most Western brands generally outsource this work. Inditex is similarly situated close to a garment production center in the northeast region of Spain, but according to Brennan, business in China moves much faster.
“Shein doesn’t work with very large factories but [with] small to mid-sized workshops that pick up orders daily,” Brennan said. “It’s very much like an Uber system, where new orders are coming into factory owners’ phones and they receive the order. It’s very scrappy, but efficient.”
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<aside><q>“It’s very much like an Uber system, where new orders are coming into factory owners’ phones and they receive the order”</q></aside>
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Most retailers place a main order at the start of the season, according to Craig Ryder, director of the UK-based Supply Chain Consulting Group: “It depends on where the order is made and where it’s being shipped to, but generally, between a retailer placing an order and getting it to market, there is very limited time to order more.”
And despite Shein’s popularity, the company remains largely unknown among Chinese consumers. The Chinese apparel market is extremely competitive, and Shein’s priority from the beginning has been to export goods abroad. The retailer has also benefited from deteriorating trade relations between China and the US. China began waiving export taxes for direct-to-consumer companies in 2018 after the US imposed more tariffs, <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-06-14/online-fashion-giant-shein-emerged-from-china-thanks-to-donald-trump-s-trade-war?sref=ExbtjcSG">Bloomberg reported</a>. Since Shein ships its orders directly to customers from Chinese warehouses, packages worth less than $800, or small-value shipments, generally remain duty-free. In other words, Shein has managed to circumvent paying both export and import taxes for about three years, something brick-and-mortar retailers aren’t able to avoid.
“If you’re Zara, there’s no way you’re going to get around US import duties because you’re not shipping to individuals. You’re selling to stores and importing in bulk,” Michael Horowitz, a consultant at the firm Retail ROI, told Bloomberg. “[Zara has] too much of a physical presence. It can’t get away with it.”
Still, receiving a shipment from Shein can take a week or longer, which is a prolonged timeline for most US-based retailers and, of course, Amazon. (The company does offer free shipping on all orders.) Shein has, in a sense, served as an accelerant in the fashion world. It has forced competitors to reassess the emphasis on speed to increase profit margins, at the cost of everything else.
Over the past year, Shein has received backlash from customers for selling, among several offensive items, a necklace with a Buddhist swastika pendant, a <a href="https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/ryancbrooks/shein-phone-case-ferguson-apology">phone case</a> with an image of a handcuffed Black person outlined in chalk, and a Muslim prayer mat as a decorative rug. The company has <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CCRK5UPHgY0/?utm_source=ig_embed&ig_rid=ae3eb043-a1cf-48e6-8eb2-0b715aab0066">apologized</a> for these incidents, which Shein has spun as a lack of cultural sensitivity and understanding of its global audiences.
But these hiccups — which are offensive at worst, and <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@shynamash/video/6963371250341186822?lang=en&is_copy_url=0&is_from_webapp=v1&sender_device=pc&sender_web_id=6909115078261343750">weird at best</a> — are partly a direct result of Shein’s fast production cycle. Following the completely legal <a href="https://www.vox.com/2018/4/27/17281022/fashion-brands-knockoffs-copyright-stolen-designs-old-navy-zara-h-and-m">copycat model</a> of most fast fashion retailers, Shein employs workers to recreate trending designs for its own products. The artwork on Shein’s offensive phone case was replicated without permission from a 2014 drawing by French graphic artist Jean Jullien, in the wake of the Ferguson uprisings. Several designers and artists have <a href="https://www.dailydot.com/unclick/designer-claims-shein-weworewhat-stole-design-viral-tiktok/">accused the company</a> of making blatant rip-offs of their work, but there’s little that can be done, besides drawing the internet’s attention to it.
There’s a running, unproven accusation on TikTok that Shein depends on child labor. These comments usually appear on videos of Shein hauls or styling videos, in which users try to shame well-off creators for buying from a purportedly unethical company. To be clear, there is no evidence that Shein employs children or produces an unsafe labor environment, but the company has not publicly disclosed workers’ wages or hours. In August, Reuters <a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/retail-consumer/exclusive-chinese-retailer-shein-lacks-disclosures-made-false-statements-about-2021-08-06/">reported</a> that Shein has yet to disclose information about its working conditions and supply chain to the British government, which the retailer is required to do under UK law. Shein had also previously falsely stated on its website that its factories were certified by international labor standard bodies, according to Reuters.
In China, however, LatePost <a href="https://kr-asia.com/first-gen-entrepreneurs-value-what-investcorp-brings-to-the-table-head-of-private-equity-gaurav-sharma-says">reported</a> that Shein has developed “a reputation for timely payment [to factories],” which is a rarity in the country. The retailer also appears to have a good rapport with the factory owners it employs, who were willing to relocate their operations alongside Shein in 2015.
Yet much remains unknown about Shein’s business practices, and timely payment alone should not be cause for praise or relief from consumers. What are the ethics of producing and selling thousands of garments a day at a breakneck pace, even if workers are reportedly paid on time? Shein’s business model drives — and depends on — overconsumption. Some of the most popular Shein-related TikToks feature young women buying <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@itsdejbabes/video/6946036569841143046?lang=en&is_copy_url=1&is_from_webapp=v1">hundreds of dollars’</a> worth of clothes to try on for every season or fashion TikTok trend. Sure, not every consumer can afford ethically made goods or have easy access to a thrift store, but it’s not low-income shoppers who are keeping Shein and the fast fashion industry alive.
I’ve <a href="https://www.vox.com/the-goods/2020/2/3/21080364/fast-fashion-h-and-m-zara">previously written</a> about how the fashion industry is one of the world’s most resource-intensive sectors, even though there is <a href="https://www.racked.com/2017/3/15/14842476/fashion-climate-change-environment-pollution">no official research</a> that fully summarizes fashion’s environmental impact. The production of polyester textiles alone <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=s6hDDQAAQBAJ&pg=PA25&#v=onepage&q=polyester&f=false">emitted about 706 billion kilograms of greenhouse gases</a> in 2015, and hundreds of gallons of water go into making a single cotton garment. Most of the clothes from Shein are made from synthetic fabrics, which are responsible for releasing plastic microfibers into oceans.
The retailer has stayed mum on ethical fashion and sustainability, but it’s hard to imagine Shein embracing corporate accountability without widespread consumer pressure. Regardless, Shein seems poised to be the fashion giant of the decade, and investors are scrambling to look for other retailers that could copy its speedy supply chain. And as the fashion industry adjusts to Shein’s blinding pace, it’s safe to assume that shoppers are encouraged and expected to buy more and more. All it takes is another viral must-have product from a brand that might be the next big thing. For now, though, Shein doesn’t seem willing to give up the throne.
Update, 8/10: Updated to include new information from Reuters about Shein failing to disclose its working standards to the UK government, and false claims the company made on its website about its factories’ certifications.
 
 
source <a href="https://www.vox.com/the-goods/22573682/shein-future-of-fast-fashion-explained">https://www.vox.com/the-goods/22573682/shein-future-of-fast-fashion-explained</a>

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Why Cuomo resigned and Trump didn’t

Beset with <a href="https://ag.ny.gov/sites/default/files/2021.08.03_nyag_-_investigative_report.pdf">allegations of sexual harassment</a> and <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/article/andrew-cuomo-nursing-home-deaths.html">other scandals</a>, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Tuesday that he would resign his office later this month.
“The best way I can help now is if I step aside and let government get back to governing,” Cuomo said in a press conference. “And therefore that’s what I’ll do.”
Up to this point, Cuomo had <a href="https://www.vox.com/2021/8/5/22607971/cuomo-impeachment-resignation-scandal">seemed defiant</a>. He’d argued that the worst allegations against him were simply false, and that he had an old-fashioned habit of touching people without sexual intent that was being misconstrued. What changed?
Cuomo’s turnabout likely isn’t due to a sudden outbreak of conscience, but rather a decision born of self-interest. With only two options seemingly remaining — an ugly, months-long impeachment ending in his removal, or quick resignation — he picked the latter.
The key here was that looming impeachment. Cuomo seems to have initially held onto hope that he could beat back impeachment in New York’s state legislature somehow — and, indeed, he’d stalled action there for several months since these scandals surfaced earlier this year. But really, legislators were waiting for a report from the office of New York’s attorney general, Letitia James, on Cuomo’s conduct.
That report, <a href="https://www.vox.com/2021/8/5/22607971/cuomo-impeachment-resignation-scandal">released last week</a>, detailed allegations from 11 women, covering conduct ranging from unwanted kissing and touching to inappropriate comments. One state employee claimed Cuomo groped her breast, while others described the governor telling sex jokes, commenting on how they looked, or touching them.
After the report’s release, leading Democrats said Cuomo had to go. New York’s entire Democratic congressional delegation <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/house/566141-entire-ny-democratic-congressional-delegation-now-calling-for-cuomos?rl=1">called on him to resign</a>, as did national Democratic leaders like President Joe Biden and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Longtime allies in state politics abandoned him too, from <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/04/nyregion/cuomo-supporters.html">unions</a> to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ny-state-assembly-speaker-carl-heastie-says-cuomo-not-fit-for-office-2021-8">state legislature power brokers</a>. A majority of legislators in the state assembly went on record <a href="https://apnews.com/article/cuomo-harassment-investigation-impeachment-26edc9cf16cd378cc3573ed85613e797">supporting his impeachment</a>. Voters rejected him too — a <a href="https://poll.qu.edu/poll-release?releaseid=3816">Quinnipiac poll found</a> that 70 percent of New York voters wanted Cuomo to quit.
The writing on the wall became clear — he couldn’t win. Furthermore, a conviction in his impeachment trial could have banned him from holding state office in the future. So now, he hopes, he will avoid that trial altogether.
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<figcaption>In this still image from video, Gov. Andrew Cuomo is seen announcing his resignation.</figcaption>
<cite>Office of the Governor of New York via AP</cite></figure>
The broader point is that scandal-plagued politicians often don’t resign because of shame or docility, but because they’ve concluded that leaving office voluntarily is the least bad, most face-saving option for them personally.
While Cuomo was defying calls for his resignation, he was frequently compared to former President Donald Trump, who did the same. But the key difference is that, even at Trump’s lowest moments — the blizzard of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/oct/13/list-of-donald-trump-sexual-misconduct-allegations">sexual harassment and assault accusations</a> against him in October 2016, the scandal over his firing of FBI director James Comey, or either of his impeachments — many Republicans still stood by him. So Trump calculated, rationally and correctly, that he could survive those scandals, and even impeachment (as he twice did).
Why did Republicans stick with Trump throughout all this? Part of the reason is that his unique personalized appeal to the GOP base made elites afraid to cross him. Despite Cuomo’s successful run in state politics, he had no comparable cult of personality among ordinary voters. Many <a href="https://www.vox.com/2014/5/15/5710402/andrew-cuomo-future-of-the-democratic-party">feared to cross Cuomo</a> for many years, but once he was badly wounded — by this and <a href="https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/cuomo-investigations-possible-impeachment.html">other scandals</a>, like that over the handling of data on Covid-19 deaths at New York nursing homes — he could be tossed aside.
Beyond that, Democrats simply had more of a desire to show they take sexual harassment allegations seriously in the Me Too era. Now, it is not the case that <a href="https://www.vox.com/2020/5/7/21248713/tara-reade-joe-biden-sexual-assault-accusation">every Democrat accused of harassment</a> these days gets tossed aside — there’s a growing consensus in the party that such allegations need to be corroborated, even if that standard <a href="https://www.cjr.org/criticism/scott-stringer-new-york-mayoral-race-allegations.php">isn’t yet uniformly applied</a>.
But last week’s report on Cuomo’s conduct from the state attorney general’s office served that purpose of corroboration — it was received as authoritative and damning. The party did not want an accused groper with a pattern of at-best demeaning and at-worst lecherous comments as its standard-bearer. And, eventually, that became clear enough to Cuomo that he felt he had no other alternative but to quit.
 
 
source <a href="https://www.vox.com/2021/8/10/22618558/cuomo-resigns-new-york-governor">https://www.vox.com/2021/8/10/22618558/cuomo-resigns-new-york-governor</a>

vox Why Cuomo resigned and Trump didn’t

Beset with allegations of sexual harassment and other scandals , New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Tuesday that he would resign his offi...

Gaming culture is toxic. A major lawsuit might finally change it.

<div><img class="ff-og-image-inserted" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/Yauf9H3Z3Dc4E84bB_Me5h33tlY=/0x518:4800x3031/fit-in/1200x630/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22773535/868750652.jpg" /></div>
The state of California filed <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2021/7/22/22588215/activision-blizzard-lawsuit-sexual-harassment-discrimination-pay">a massive lawsuit</a> in July against gaming giant Activision, parent company to the game developer Blizzard.
The suit, spearheaded by the Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH), concluded a two-year investigation into Blizzard and Activision’s workplace culture, and contains allegations of entrenched misogyny, gender-based discrimination, and rape culture throughout the corporation. The suit paints a damning picture not just of Activision — the company behind game franchises like Candy Crush, World of Warcraft, Guitar Hero, Overwatch, and Call of Duty — but of gaming culture itself.
Among other allegations, the suit includes claims that while attending Activision’s popular annual gaming conference, BlizzCon, higher-level male staffers hung out at a hotel suite nicknamed the “Cosby Suite,” after Bill Cosby, who would later be <a href="https://www.vox.com/2018/9/25/17896250/bill-cosby-andrea-constand-sentence-sexual-assault-prison">convicted</a> for serial sexual assault. (His sentence was <a href="https://www.vox.com/culture/22559561/bill-cosby-vacated-sentence-is-rape-a-crime-michelle-bowdler-interview">vacated</a> in June). The suit further named the suite’s occupant, former Blizzard game director Alex Afrasiabi, citing multiple incidents in which he allegedly harassed women at the conference.
The suit also purports that in an unrelated event, after a period of targeted sexual harassment which reportedly included male staffers sharing nude photos of her around the office, one employee died by suicide.
It’s hardly news that gaming culture has a problem with misogyny; the explosion of the <a href="https://www.vox.com/culture/2020/1/20/20808875/gamergate-lessons-cultural-impact-changes-harassment-laws">Gamergate</a> online harassment campaign throughout 2014 and 2015 made that abundantly clear. Still, it might be natural to assume that the gaming industry made attempts to create meaningful change in the wake of Gamergate — or if not then, perhaps in 2017, when so many industries were facing their #MeToo reckonings.
Indeed, one of Activision’s responses to the lawsuit was to note that Afrasiabi had already been fired in 2020, while emphasizing that the “Cosby Suite” had been part of “2013 events,” perhaps implying that the allegations were outdated.
This assumption belies the ugly truth about the gaming industry: though it’s easy to assume that things must have changed since the mid-2010s, that doesn’t appear to be the case. The lawsuit cites one complaint made to company leadership about gender-based discrimination as late as “early 2019.”
What this leaves us with, then, is a portrait of a gaming industry with deep-rooted toxicity and misogyny, problems that have been entrenched since the very beginning. The Activision lawsuit indicts not just gaming culture, but the broader dysfunction of tech culture, as well as the high-pressure, often exploitative environments in which games employees are all too frequently expected to thrive.
Activision has been around since the dawn of the gaming industry, more or less; first formed in 1979, it merged with Blizzard’s parent company in 2008 and became an industry behemoth, employing nearly 10,000 people worldwide. Blizzard enjoys a huge amount of fan loyalty, runs multiple esports leagues, and, prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, produced BlizzCon every year for <a href="https://www.sportsvideo.org/2019/11/01/blizzcon-2019-as-esports-presence-grows-so-too-does-size-of-blizzard-entertainments-production/">over 40,000 attendees</a>.
Despite all this public-facing good will, the allegations in the DFEH lawsuit paint a far different picture of Activision’s internal environment. Women were allegedly consistently “offered lower compensation and less lucrative job assignments and opportunities ... and often had to work harder and longer to earn equal promotional opportunities.” One woman employee who “generated significantly more revenue [and] ran almost twice as many campaigns as her male counterpart” was repeatedly overlooked and passed over for promotion in favor of her coworker, a man.
At times, the lawsuit’s details of the alleged sexism and sexual harassment seem like a parody of a toxic office. “A female employee had assumed some of the responsibilities of being a manager, but when she asked [about] being paid fairly,” was told “they could not risk promoting her as she might get pregnant and like being a mom too much ... Other female employees were criticized for leaving to pick their children up from daycare while their male counterparts were playing video games.”
Meanwhile, Black women on staff say they were continually micromanaged, with one employee facing criticism from male supervisors for requesting time off, asking for help, and for her “body language,” according to the lawsuit.
All of this alleged discrimination played out against a backdrop repeatedly described as a “fratboy culture,” one in which “male employees proudly came into work hungover,” perpetually played video games instead of doing work (“A newly promoted male supervisor delegated his responsibilities to his now female subordinates in favor of playing Call of Duty”), and perpetually sexually harassed female employees. This described harassment included a litany of inappropriate sexual advances, rape jokes, demeaning sexual comments, and non-consensual touching, groping, and physical harassment, according to the lawsuit.
One male member of company leadership, Blizzard’s former senior creative director Alex Afrasiabi, was purported to be the brainchild behind the BlizzCon “Cosby Suite.” On July 28, Kotaku <a href="https://kotaku.com/inside-blizzard-developers-infamous-bill-cosby-suite-1847378762">published photos</a> of the suite, allegedly taken in 2013, which included a group of Activision staff posing with a painting of Bill Cosby. Afrasiabi allegedly physically groped and harassed multiple female staffers and other BlizzCon attendees. Activision said in an emailed statement to Kotaku that it had become aware of the allegations in 2020 and “immediately took corrective action,” but that it had “already conducted a separate investigation of Alex Afrasiabi and terminated him for his misconduct in his treatment of other employees.”
It’s hard to overstate just how dysfunctional much of the gaming industry’s workplace environments are. Alongside the rampant misogyny, many gaming companies also struggle with abusive labor practices that lay the groundwork for the environments in which this level of toxicity flourishes.
To make sure games are released on time, game developers often operate on months of intense work schedules known as “<a href="https://time.com/5603329/e3-video-game-creators-union/">crunch times</a>” — absurdly long work weeks, sometimes as long as 100 hours or more, nearly always characterized by unpaid overtime. This practice has intensified to the point of becoming known as crunch culture, in which the ability of a company’s staff to work exhaustively to deliver a product on a high-pressure work deadline is almost a matter of pride.
“If you have a culture of a particular studio that says, ‘work hard, live hard, fight hard,’ [where] everything has to be 100 percent or give up,” one employee with game developer Ubisoft told me, “all it takes [to apply pressure to overwork] is just somebody to say, well, you must not love it that much.”
The employee, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, told me she only realized how harsh the work culture of the US gaming industry was after she relocated to a country with a better work-life balance. “I was working overtime pretty much every single day, not really getting paid for it,” she said. “And when I was getting paid for it, I was told I needed to cut back.”
The pressure to overwork manifested in other ways, too. “I would have dudes throwing humongous temper tantrums or putting their fingers in my face, yelling at me,” she said. “And if I said, ‘This is wildly inappropriate and slightly illegal,’ everybody in the room would be like, ‘Whoa, you need to relax.’”
This worker exploitation pops up throughout tech culture, which has managed over the decades to reframe labor exploitation as <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/26/business/against-hustle-culture-rise-and-grind-tgim.html">a love of workaholism</a>. Such zeal frequently verges on <a href="https://www.salon.com/2018/11/23/why-so-many-tech-workers-worship-their-ceos/">cult-like loyalty</a> toward tech companies and one’s own employers. Many gaming employees grew up loving, and dreaming of working for, the companies that made the games they loved, so many are primed to accept an exploitative environment as the trade-off for attaining that dream.
“It starts when you first apply for the job,” the Ubisoft staffer said. “We need a rockstar, we need a ninja, we need someone who’s passionate, who’s going to give it their all. Then you go and you interview and you may just feel like the most special human being in the world. And if you don’t do the job, if you don’t work the 50, 60, 70, 80 hours, then you’re not that rock star — then you’re nothing.”
Partly as a reward for getting through the crunch, gaming employees flock to the industry’s run of massive gaming conferences — huge, weeklong events like E3, BlizzCon, and PAX. These conventions not only serve as spaces where fans and game promotions converge; they also serve as pressure valves for the other, more stressful parts of the job — and they often come with a side of additional issues.
“I witnessed so many divorces because the dudes would be doing their things,” the Ubisoft staffer observed. “They could date and live the high life while the women [employees] suffered. They would sexually harass the women. And their wives would be back home and they would be living their lives at all of the [industry] events.”
She noted that the interplay between fans and employees at gaming cons can be “a fantastic high” that feeds the egos of staffers and elevates the “rock star” culture. The convention VIP treatment both feeds their ego and becomes a status symbol they then pass on to their friends and favored employees. “It’s all totally connected,” she said, “and it all adds to the magical world of the gaming industry.”
In such a context, any attempt to question the company or cultural status quo might easily be taken as a show of disloyalty, or a sign that someone is disgruntled and doesn’t belong. Furthermore, <a href="https://mashable.com/article/video-game-diversity">a great majority</a> of these employees are young men who’ve been raised in an environment where <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2017/oct/24/hey-dude-do-this-the-last-resort-for-female-gamers-escaping-online-abuse">casual misogyny</a> is a habitual part of gaming socialization.
It’s hardly surprising, then, that some gaming companies tend to foster an environment that normalizes casual misogyny, harassment, and sexism in the workplace, and then denigrate, ostracize, and punish women who attempt to change that culture.
“What you have is an industry filled with Peter Pans,” game developer Brianna Wu, a feminist activist whose outspoken views on the industry have frequently made her a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/oct/17/brianna-wu-gamergate-human-cost">prominent target</a> for harassment, told me. “And the thing is Wendy eventually leaves the Lost Boys, and that’s very much a metaphor for the game industry.”
This workplace conflict reflects the broader tension between traditional gaming culture — the “fratboy” atmosphere described in the lawsuit — and the growing visibility of women and other diverse players in gaming communities. This conflict gained media attention, particularly in the years just prior to Gamergate, when headlines involving rampant, extreme sexism in geek spaces seemed to pop up <a href="https://www.dailydot.com/unclick/rape-misogyny-female-geek-gamers-culture/">on a near-weekly basis</a>. In response to the current Activision lawsuit, social media users resurfaced <a href="https://twitter.com/chrisbratt/status/1418629194683125761">a video from 2010</a> in which an all-male panel of Blizzard staffers mocked a female WoW player’s request to have less sexualized female characters.
<div>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Oh god, I'd not seen this before. It's heartbreaking.
Here's a 2010 Blizzcon panel in which a fan was brave enough to ask a panel full of men, including J. Allen Brack (left) & Alex Afrasiabi (right) whether there's scope for some of WoW's female characters to be less sexualised <a href="https://t.co/Elaf3K7KVc">pic.twitter.com/Elaf3K7KVc</a>
— Chris Bratt (@chrisbratt) <a href="https://twitter.com/chrisbratt/status/1418629194683125761?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 23, 2021</a></blockquote>
</div>
“Blizzard is the Disney of the gaming industry,” Wu observed. “They’re well-regarded for putting out games that are fun to play, but also have that stench of misogynistic, dated game design.”
In this regard, Blizzard is typical of the industry as a whole, she noted. Like other major developers, Blizzard has “focused on a very particular kind of fan like a laser, who generally speaking is [a] white straight male, 20 to 40,” she said. “And they’ve catered to their every single whim.”
This focus on male consumers contributed to Gamergate, a social media movement which <a href="https://www.vox.com/2014/9/6/6111065/gamergate-explained-everybody-fighting">ostensibly began</a> as a protest against biased games journalism in 2014, but really was focused on <a href="https://www.vox.com/2015/1/28/7925317/antia-sarkeesian-gamergate">intimidating and harassing</a> a handful of prominent, outspoken feminists in the industry, Wu among them. Gamergate’s overt misogyny sparked massive criticism of gaming culture, and many people hoped that it might result in more support for women in gaming.
“I think there was a sense with a lot of women in the field that we were about to change — that the industry was about to change,” Wu said. “Finally, our stories were being told, finally, people knew about the constant deluge of sexism.”
Despite the gaming industry taking “a reputational hit” for its misogyny, Wu told me bluntly that the expected change never came. “Every single convention I go to has more panels for women to come forward and talk about what it’s like to be a woman in games. We did all these things that feel good and might look good for a PR perspective, but doesn’t get to the heart of the matter, which is [that] you’ve got to fire the a-hole, and you’ve got to promote women, We treated it like a marketing problem rather than a workplace problem.”
As for the MeToo movement, Wu believes that, too, has been a nonstarter in the industry: “You can point to a couple people that faced consequences, like IGN editor <a href="https://kotaku.com/ign-fires-editor-in-chief-for-alleged-misconduct-1821747243?utm_campaign=Socialflow_Kotaku_Twitter&utm_source=Kotaku_Twitter&utm_medium=Socialflow">Steve Butts</a> [who was fired for allegedly harassing a staff member], but overall, the gaming industry never had a #MeToo movement ... Our industry has done nothing but window-dressing in getting rid of the harassers.”
One reason for the lack of a larger movement, she said, is that “women had seen that there were no consequences so many times that there was a fear in coming forward.” In the years since MeToo became a wider movement, many women have come forward to accuse individuals of specific harassment and assault allegations; in 2020, one gamer began documenting <a href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1FRpIUegWVl9eD3q6C9Dr5JIzlH9r4M4Lz2JrHQclvg4/htmlview?pru=AAABcwo3u6I*PQAIi2P88QhytwjcI_9Pog#gid=0">specific allegations</a> against <a href="https://www.cnet.com/news/as-sexual-abuse-allegations-flood-in-the-world-of-video-game-faces-a-reckoning/">Twitch streamers</a> and other gaming figures. Still, little wider change, or even widespread attention, came from that short-lived movement, and instead, instances of the gaming industry’s misogyny continue to make headlines. (See, for example, the release of the 2019 video game <a href="https://www.polygon.com/2019/3/6/18253585/valve-rape-day-steam-statement">Rape Day</a>, in which the player’s goal is to ... you can probably figure it out.)
“I think that the thing I’ve seen over and over from this Activision lawsuit with my friends in the game industry is just a kind of existential rage,” Wu said, “because we keep talking about the same thing and nothing changed.”
Since the lawsuit was filed, Activision has been on the ropes, <a href="https://twitter.com/Megan_Nicolett/status/1418605675790413834">defending</a> itself on a number of fronts and initially <a href="https://www.ign.com/articles/activision-blizzard-sued-by-california">calling</a> the suit “inaccurate” and “irresponsible.” Activision’s employees, on the other hand, responded with outrage, calling the response by company leadership “<a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2021/07/26/tech/activision-blizzard-employee-petition-lawsuit/index.html">abhorrent</a>” and organizing for better working conditions, including fairer treatment of women on staff. <a href="https://www.pcgamer.com/activision-blizzard-lawsuit-controversy-timeline-explained/">Over 3,000</a> current and former employees have since signed an <a href="https://kotaku.com/over-1-000-activision-blizzard-employees-sign-letter-co-1847364340">open letter</a> to company leadership, calling for a better, more sensitive response from company leadership and a commitment to holding alleged abusers accountable.
As current staff conducted <a href="https://www.wired.com/story/activision-blizzard-employees-walk-out-after-allegations-of-rampant-sexism/">walkouts</a> in protest, former employees tweeted their their horror stories of experiencing <a href="https://twitter.com/SHAYNUHCHANEL/status/1418167541965496329">sexism</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/bkcrusco/status/1418241726792142849">sexual harassment</a> at the company. The backlash prompted Activision’s CEO to walk back the company’s previous responses and admit that they were “<a href="https://www.cnn.com/2021/07/28/tech/activision-blizzard-bobby-kotick-walkout/index.html">tone deaf</a>.”
The lawsuit prompted numerous corporate sponsors, <a href="https://www.polygon.com/22611878/overwatch-league-sponsorship-t-mobile-coca-cola-state-farm">including Coca-Cola and T-Mobile</a>, to exit from their participation in Blizzard’s esports leagues, including its Overwatch and Call of Duty leagues. Activists also called for fans to <a href="https://twitter.com/JakeEddyCarp/status/1420086714773622785">boycott</a> Activision’s many games in protest; the subsequent drop in Activision stock has reportedly cost the company at least $<a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/activision-blizzard-stock-lost-8-billion-market-value-discrimination-lawsuit-2021-7">8 billion</a>.
On August 3, Blizzard president J. Allen Brack, who was directly cited in the DFEH lawsuit as having delivered nothing but “a slap on the wrist” to one of the company’s worst offenders, <a href="https://news.blizzard.com/en-us/blizzard/23706475/new-leadership-at-blizzard">announced</a> his resignation. The company’s head of HR, Jesse Meschuk, also <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-08-03/blizzard-president-departs-as-game-maker-faces-labor-lawsuit">departed</a> shortly after.
All of this activity may make it seem as though the lawsuit is having an impact: On an August 3 call with investors, Activision CEO Bobby Kotick pledged “<a href="https://investor.activision.com/news-releases/news-release-details/activision-blizzard-announces-second-quarter-2021-financial">swift action</a>” to address the issues raised by the suit.
But Wu’s note about industry window-dressing may be well observed. Even as Activision was pledging an internal review, employees were <a href="https://www.inputmag.com/gaming/following-protests-activision-hires-law-firm-with-union-busting-history">pushing back</a> over its choice of the third-party company hired to conduct that review: WilmerHale, a law firm <a href="https://kotaku.com/activision-blizzard-hires-union-busting-firm-as-workers-1847386654">known for union-busting</a> that has a history of backing employer interests over those of their employees.
Meanwhile, the calls for accountability have spread to other parts of the industry including Ubisoft, whose employees <a href="https://www.axios.com/ubisoft-workers-letter-activision-blizzard-harassment-392fd998-9518-4d1c-9ca7-24a7c4534bb3.html">published their own open letter</a> on July 27, claiming that despite reports of rampant harassment and discrimination in their company that <a href="https://kotaku.com/ubisofts-metoo-reckoning-two-months-later-1844717203">surfaced last year</a>, little had changed and many of the alleged harassers had yet to be held accountable. “It was an open secret that these people were doing these things, and it took public outcry for something to happen and for them to make any sort of choice,” the Ubisoft staffer said. “But did something major change? No, not really.”
When contacted by Vox, an Activision Blizzard spokesperson insisted the company is looking out for its employees. “We support our employees’ right to express their opinions and concerns about benefits and working conditions, without fear of retaliation and with respect for the rights of other employees,” they said in an email. “This includes their right to choose whether or not to organize. As always, we welcome outreach directly from our employees with concerns or ideas to help make improvements, and there are multiple well-established avenues internally for dialogue, both direct and anonymous, with HR, leadership, and legal.”
As for the law firm: “WilmerHale has extensive experience helping organizations strengthen their workplace environment by making improvements around policies and procedures related to discrimination, harassment, and retaliation issues,” they said. “The firm has not been retained to advise on union-related matters.”
Activision also countered the narrative of the company as a straight white boys’ club and committed itself to hiring more diversely. “The only way for our games to reach our desired, global scale is to make them as broadly appealing as possible to anyone who wants to play,” the spokesperson said. “We are proud that our games openly celebrate diversity. We’re constantly introducing characters with different genders, races, and backgrounds to ensure that anyone who plays our game feels welcome and dignified.”
“Activision Blizzard is likewise committed to inclusive hiring practices and to creating a diverse workforce. It is essential to our mission. We are adding personnel to further strengthen our work in response to this directive.”
Wu, for her part, told me she has little faith in the industry’s ability to self-police. Instead, she drew encouragement from the fact that <a href="https://www.marketwatch.com/story/activision-blizzard-stock-drops-as-employees-decry-response-to-sexual-harassment-lawsuit-11627402434">Activision’s stock dropped</a> in response to the uproar — because money might have more of an influence than any number of staff walkouts.
“My bottom line is, until it’s more expensive to treat women wrong than it is to treat women right, this is simply going to continue,” she said. She noted that many major gaming studios had refused to audit their companies to be compliant with federal workplace regulations. “It’s past time that we had real solutions.”
Still, if there’s any silver lining here, she said, it’s that the lawsuit was filed to begin with, because the state of California was able to conduct a real investigation into systemic issues that the company itself never could or would.
“This is the formula we need going forward to change the culture in the video game industry,” Wu said. “It needs to be a top-to-bottom reckoning.”
 
 
source <a href="https://www.vox.com/22617457/activision-blizzard-lawsuit-ubisoft-open-letter-toxic-gaming-culture">https://www.vox.com/22617457/activision-blizzard-lawsuit-ubisoft-open-letter-toxic-gaming-culture</a>

vox Gaming culture is toxic. A major lawsuit might finally change it.

The state of California filed a massive lawsuit in July against gaming giant Activision, parent company to the game developer Blizzard. T...

The controversy over Apple’s plan to protect kids by scanning your iPhone

<div><img class="ff-og-image-inserted" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/JGB0lydsBjtV72_CkumrTDKjoRU=/0x359:5005x2979/fit-in/1200x630/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22773423/GettyImages_1230252505.jpg" /></div>
Apple, the company that proudly touted its user privacy bona fides in its recent <a href="https://www.vox.com/recode/2021/6/7/22522994/apple-ios15-privacy-icloud">iOS 15 preview</a>, recently introduced a feature that seems to run counter to its privacy-first ethos: the ability to scan iPhone photos and alert the authorities if any of them contain child sexual abuse material (CSAM). While fighting against child sexual abuse is objectively a good thing, privacy experts aren’t thrilled about how Apple is choosing to do it.
Apple’s new “expanded protections for children” might not be as bad as it seems if the company keeps its promises. But it’s also yet another reminder that <a href="https://www.vox.com/recode/2021/6/23/22545534/peloton-tread-membership-now-required-recall">we don’t own our data or devices</a>, even the ones we physically possess. You can buy an iPhone for a considerable sum, take a photo with it, and put it in your pocket. And then Apple can figuratively reach into that pocket and into that iPhone to make sure your photo is legal.
Last week, Apple <a data-cdata="{"rewritten_url":"https://go.redirectingat.com?id=66960X1516588\u0026xs=1\u0026url=https://www.apple.com/child-safety/\u0026referrer=vox.com\u0026sref=https://www.vox.com/recode/2021/8/10/22617196/apple-ios15-photo-messages-scanned\u0026xcust=___vx__p_22381237__m_m-placeholder__s_s-placeholder__t_w__c_c-placeholder__r_r-placeholder__d_d-placeholder","subtag_max_length":50,"subtag_delim_length":3,"subtag_key":"xcust","subtag_data":{"id":"66960X1516588","xs":"1","url":"https://www.apple.com/child-safety/","referrer":"vox.com","sref":"https://www.vox.com/recode/2021/8/10/22617196/apple-ios15-photo-messages-scanned","xcust":"___vx__p_22381237__m_m-placeholder__s_s-placeholder__t_w__c_c-placeholder__r_r-placeholder__d_d-placeholder"},"encode_subtag":false}" has-subtag="true" href="https://go.redirectingat.com/?id=66960X1516588&xs=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.apple.com%2Fchild-safety%2F&referrer=vox.com&sref=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.vox.com%2Frecode%2F2021%2F8%2F10%2F22617196%2Fapple-ios15-photo-messages-scanned" rel="sponsored nofollow noopener" target="_blank">announced</a> that the new technology to scan photos for CSAM will be installed on users’ devices with the upcoming iOS 15 and macOS Monterey updates. Scanning images for CSAM <a href="https://blog.chron.com/techblog/2014/08/google-microsoft-others-scan-your-data-looking-for-child-porn/">isn’t a new thing</a> — Facebook and <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2014/8/5/5970141/how-google-scans-your-gmail-for-child-porn">Google</a> have been scanning images uploaded to their platforms for years — and Apple is already able to access photos uploaded to iCloud accounts. Scanning photos uploaded to iCloud in order to spot CSAM would make sense and be consistent with Apple’s competitors.
But Apple is doing something a bit different, something that feels more invasive even though Apple says it’s meant to be less so. The image scans will take place on the devices themselves, not on the servers to which you upload your photos. Apple also says it will use new tools in the Message app that scanned photos sent to or from children for sexual imagery, with an option to tell the parents of children ages 12 and under if they viewed those images. Parents can opt in to those features, and all the scanning happens on the devices.
In effect, a company that took <a href="https://www.vox.com/2016/2/25/11588232/apple-files-its-motion-to-throw-out-court-order-to-hack-san">not one</a> <a href="https://www.vox.com/recode/2020/5/18/21262731/fbi-apple-unlock-iphone-encryption-bill-barr-alshamrani">but two</a> widely publicized stances against the FBI’s demands that it create a back door into suspected terrorists’ phones <a href="https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2021/08/apple-adds-a-backdoor-to-imesssage-and-icloud-storage.html">has seemingly created a back door</a>. It’s not immediately clear why Apple is making this move this way at this time, but it could have something to do with pending laws abroad and potential ones in the US. Currently, companies can be fined up to $300,000 if they find CSAM but do not report it to authorities, though <a href="https://stratechery.com/2021/apples-mistake/">they’re not required to look for CSAM</a>.
Following backlash after its initial announcement of the new features, Apple on Sunday <a data-cdata="{"rewritten_url":"https://go.redirectingat.com?id=66960X1516588\u0026xs=1\u0026url=https://www.apple.com/child-safety/pdf/Expanded_Protections_for_Children_Frequently_Asked_Questions.pdf\u0026referrer=vox.com\u0026sref=https://www.vox.com/recode/2021/8/10/22617196/apple-ios15-photo-messages-scanned\u0026xcust=___vx__p_22381237__m_m-placeholder__s_s-placeholder__t_w__c_c-placeholder__r_r-placeholder__d_d-placeholder","subtag_max_length":50,"subtag_delim_length":3,"subtag_key":"xcust","subtag_data":{"id":"66960X1516588","xs":"1","url":"https://www.apple.com/child-safety/pdf/Expanded_Protections_for_Children_Frequently_Asked_Questions.pdf","referrer":"vox.com","sref":"https://www.vox.com/recode/2021/8/10/22617196/apple-ios15-photo-messages-scanned","xcust":"___vx__p_22381237__m_m-placeholder__s_s-placeholder__t_w__c_c-placeholder__r_r-placeholder__d_d-placeholder"},"encode_subtag":false}" has-subtag="true" href="https://go.redirectingat.com/?id=66960X1516588&xs=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.apple.com%2Fchild-safety%2Fpdf%2FExpanded_Protections_for_Children_Frequently_Asked_Questions.pdf&referrer=vox.com&sref=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.vox.com%2Frecode%2F2021%2F8%2F10%2F22617196%2Fapple-ios15-photo-messages-scanned" rel="sponsored nofollow noopener" target="_blank">released an FAQ</a> with a few clarifying details about how its on-device scanning tech works. Basically, Apple will download a database of known CSAM images from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) to all of its devices. The CSAM has been <a data-cdata="{"rewritten_url":"https://go.redirectingat.com?id=66960X1516588\u0026xs=1\u0026url=https://www.apple.com/child-safety/pdf/Expanded_Protections_for_Children_Technology_Summary.pdf\u0026referrer=vox.com\u0026sref=https://www.vox.com/recode/2021/8/10/22617196/apple-ios15-photo-messages-scanned\u0026xcust=___vx__p_22381237__m_m-placeholder__s_s-placeholder__t_w__c_c-placeholder__r_r-placeholder__d_d-placeholder","subtag_max_length":50,"subtag_delim_length":3,"subtag_key":"xcust","subtag_data":{"id":"66960X1516588","xs":"1","url":"https://www.apple.com/child-safety/pdf/Expanded_Protections_for_Children_Technology_Summary.pdf","referrer":"vox.com","sref":"https://www.vox.com/recode/2021/8/10/22617196/apple-ios15-photo-messages-scanned","xcust":"___vx__p_22381237__m_m-placeholder__s_s-placeholder__t_w__c_c-placeholder__r_r-placeholder__d_d-placeholder"},"encode_subtag":false}" has-subtag="true" href="https://go.redirectingat.com/?id=66960X1516588&xs=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.apple.com%2Fchild-safety%2Fpdf%2FExpanded_Protections_for_Children_Technology_Summary.pdf&referrer=vox.com&sref=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.vox.com%2Frecode%2F2021%2F8%2F10%2F22617196%2Fapple-ios15-photo-messages-scanned" rel="sponsored nofollow noopener" target="_blank">converted into strings of numbers</a>, so the images aren’t being downloaded onto your device. Apple’s technology scans photos in your iCloud Photo library and compares them to the database. If it finds a certain number of matches (Apple has not specified what that number is), a human will review it and then report it to NCMEC, which will take it from there. It isn’t analyzing the photos to look for signs that they might contain CSAM, like the Messages tool appears to do; it’s just looking for matches to known CSAM.
<div class="c-float-right">
<aside><q>“A thoroughly documented, carefully thought-out, and narrowly-scoped backdoor is still a backdoor”</q></aside>
</div>
Additionally, Apple says that only photos you choose to upload to iCloud Photos are scanned. If you disable iCloud Photos, then your pictures won’t be scanned. Back in 2018, <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2018/02/11/apple-could-sell-icloud-for-the-enterprise-barclays-says.html">CNBC reported</a> that there were roughly 850 million iCloud users, with 170 million of them paying for the extra storage capacity (Apple offers all iPhone users 5 GB cloud storage free). So a lot of people could be affected here.
Apple says this method has “significant privacy benefits” over simply scanning photos after they’ve been uploaded to iCloud. Nothing leaves the device or is seen by Apple unless there’s a match. Apple also maintains that it will only use a CSAM database and refuse any government requests to add any other types of content to it.
But privacy advocates think the new feature will open the door to abuses. Now that Apple has established that it can do this for some images, it’s almost certainly going to be asked to do it for other ones. The Electronic Frontier Foundation <a href="https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2021/08/apples-plan-think-different-about-encryption-opens-backdoor-your-private-life">easily sees</a> a future where governments pressure Apple to scan user devices for content that their countries outlaw, both in on-device iCloud photo libraries and in users’ messages.
“That’s not a slippery slope; that’s a fully built system just waiting for external pressure to make the slightest change,” the EFF said. “At the end of the day, even a thoroughly documented, carefully thought-out, and narrowly-scoped backdoor is still a backdoor.”
The Center for Democracy and Technology said in a statement to Recode that Apple’s new tools were deeply concerning and represented an alarming change from the company’s previous privacy stance. It hoped Apple would reconsider the decision.
“Apple will no longer be offering fully end-to-end encrypted messaging through iMessage and will be undermining the privacy previously offered for the storage of iPhone users’ photos,” CDT said.
Will Cathcart, head of Facebook’s encrypted messaging service WhatsApp, blasted Apple’s new measures in a Twitter thread:
<div>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Instead of focusing on making it easy for people to report content that's shared with them, Apple has built software that can scan all the private photos on your phone -- even photos you haven't shared with anyone. That's not privacy.
— Will Cathcart (@wcathcart) <a href="https://twitter.com/wcathcart/status/1423701477705404418?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 6, 2021</a></blockquote>
</div>
(Facebook and Apple <a href="https://www.vox.com/recode/22254815/facebook-apple-privacy-ios-14-lawsuit">have been at odds</a> since Apple introduced its anti-tracking feature to its mobile operating system, which Apple framed as a way to protect its users’ privacy from companies that track their activity across apps, particularly Facebook. So you can imagine that a Facebook executive was quite happy for a chance to weigh in on Apple’s own privacy issues.)
And Edward Snowden expressed his thoughts in meme form:
Some experts think Apple’s move could be a good one — or at least, not as bad as it’s been made to seem. John Gruber <a href="https://daringfireball.net/2021/08/apple_child_safety_initiatives_slippery_slope">wondered</a> if this could give Apple a way to fully encrypt iCloud backups from <a href="https://www.vox.com/recode/22565926/police-law-enforcement-data-warrant">government surveillance</a> while also being able to say it is monitoring its users’ content for CSAM.
“If these features work as described and only as described, there’s almost no cause for concern,” Gruber wrote, acknowledging that there are still “completely legitimate concerns from trustworthy experts about how the features could be abused or misused in the future.”
Ben Thompson of Stratechery <a href="https://stratechery.com/2021/apples-mistake/">pointed out</a> that this could be Apple’s way of getting out ahead of potential laws in Europe requiring internet service providers to look for CSAM on their platforms. Stateside, American lawmakers have <a href="https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2020/12/2020-congress-threatened-our-speech-and-security-earn-it-act">tried to pass</a> their own legislation that would supposedly require internet services to monitor their platforms for CSAM or else lose their <a href="https://www.vox.com/recode/2020/5/28/21273241/section-230-explained-trump-social-media-twitter-facebook">Section 230 protections</a>. It’s not inconceivable that they’ll reintroduce that bill or something similar this Congress.
Or maybe Apple’s motives are simpler. Two years ago, the New York Times <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/11/09/us/internet-child-sex-abuse.html">criticized</a> Apple, along with several other tech companies, for not doing as much as they could to scan their services for CSAM and for implementing measures, such as encryption, that made such scans impossible and CSAM harder to detect. The internet was now “overrun” with CSAM, the Times said.
Apple was okay with being accused of protecting dead terrorists’ data, but perhaps being seen as enabling child sexual abuse was a bridge too far.
 
 
source <a href="https://www.vox.com/recode/2021/8/10/22617196/apple-ios15-photo-messages-scanned">https://www.vox.com/recode/2021/8/10/22617196/apple-ios15-photo-messages-scanned</a>

vox The controversy over Apple’s plan to protect kids by scanning your iPhone

Apple, the company that proudly touted its user privacy bona fides in its recent iOS 15 preview , recently introduced a feature that seems ...

The Death Cult That Rules Iran

armageddon The Death Cult That Rules Iran

By Theodore Shoebat In this video I talk about the death cult that rules Iran and how it manifested its twisted ways during the Iran-Iraq ...

Biden Says Afghan Leaders Must "Fight For Their Nation" As Taliban Gains

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<div class="ins_instory_dv_cont"><img alt="Biden Says Afghan Leaders Must 'Fight For Their Nation' As Taliban Gains" src="https://c.ndtvimg.com/2021-06/m3egk0dk_joe-biden-reuters-650_625x300_17_June_21.jpg" title="Biden Says Afghan Leaders Must 'Fight For Their Nation' As Taliban Gains" /></div>
The US president said he does not regret his decision to withdraw troops from Afghanistan(FILE)
</div>
Kabul/Washington:
Taliban insurgents tightened their grip on captured Afghan territory on Tuesday, now controlling 65% of the country, as US President Joe Biden urged the nation's leaders to fight for their homeland.
Pul-e-Khumri, capital of the northern province of Baghlan, fell to the Taliban on Tuesday evening, according to residents who reported Afghan security forces retreating toward the Kelagi desert, home to a large Afghan army base.
Pul-e-Khumri became the seventh regional capital to come under the control of the Islamist militants in about a week.
"Afghan leaders have to come together," Biden told reporters at the White House, saying the Afghan troops outnumber the Taliban and must want to fight. "They've got to fight for themselves, fight for their nation."
The US president said he does not regret his decision to withdraw, noting that Washington has spent more than $1 trillion over 20 years and lost thousands of troops. He said the United States continues to provide significant air support, food, equipment and salaries to Afghan forces.
In Kabul, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani said he was seeking help from regional militias he has squabbled with for years. He appealed to civilians to defend Afghanistan's "democratic fabric."
In Aibak, a provincial capital between Mazar-i-Sharif and Kabul, Taliban fighters were moving into government buildings. Most government forces appeared to have withdrawn.
"The only way is self-imposed house arrest or to find a way to leave for Kabul," said tax officer Sher Mohamed Abbas, when asked about living conditions in Aibak.
"But then even Kabul is not a safe option anymore," said Abbas, who supports a family of nine.
For years, the north was Afghanistan's most peaceful region, with only a minimal Taliban presence. The militants' strategy appears to be to take the north, and border crossings in the north, west and south, and then close in on Kabul.
The Taliban, battling to defeat the U.S-backed government and reimpose strict Islamic law with peace talks at an impasse, met little resistance as they swept into Aibak on Monday.
Taliban forces now control 65% of Afghanistan, threaten to take 11 provincial capitals and seek to deprive Kabul of its traditional support from national forces in the north, a senior European Union official said on Tuesday.
The government has withdrawn from hard-to-defend rural districts to focus on holding population centers. Officials have appealed for pressure on Pakistan to stop Taliban reinforcements and supplies flowing over the border. Pakistan denies backing the Taliban.
The United States has been carrying out some air strikes to support government troops. Defense Department spokesman John Kirby said the strikes were having a "kinetic" effect on the Taliban, but acknowledged limitations.
"Nobody has suggested here that air strikes are a panacea, that will solve all the problems of the conditions on the ground. We've never said that," Kirby said.
DISPLACED FAMILIES
Taliban and government officials confirmed that the Islamist insurgents have overrun six provincial capitals in recent days in the north, west and south.
Gulam Bahauddin Jailani, head of the national disaster authority, told Reuters that fighting was going on in 25 of 34 provinces and 60,000 families had been displaced over the past two months, with most seeking refuge in Kabul.
About 400,000 Afghans have been displaced in recent months and there has been an increase in the numbers of people fleeing to Iran over the past 10 days, the EU official said.
Six EU member states warned the bloc's executive against halting deportations of rejected Afghan asylum seekers arriving in Europe, fearing a possible replay of a 2015-16 crisis over the arrival of more than a million migrants, mainly from the Middle East.
UN human rights chief Michelle Bachelet said reports of violations that could amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity were emerging, including "deeply disturbing reports" of the summary execution of surrendering government troops.
"People rightly fear that a seizure of power by the Taliban will erase the human rights gains of the past two decades," said Bachelet, a former Chilean president.
The Taliban, ousted after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States, appeared to be in a position to advance from different directions on Mazar-i-Sharif. Its fall would deal a devastating blow to Ghani's government.
Atta Mohammad Noor, a northern militia commander, vowed there would be "resistance until the last drop of my blood". He added on Twitter: "I prefer dying in dignity than dying in despair."
India sent a flight to northern Afghanistan to take its citizens home. The United States and Britain have already advised citizens to leave Afghanistan.
Washington will complete the withdrawal of its forces this month in exchange for Taliban promises to prevent Afghanistan being used for international terrorism. The Taliban promised not to attack foreign forces as they withdraw but did not agree to a ceasefire with the government.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
 
 
source <a href="https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/joe-biden-says-afghan-leaders-must-fight-for-their-nation-as-taliban-gains-2507556">https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/joe-biden-says-afghan-leaders-must-fight-for-their-nation-as-taliban-gains-2507556</a>

news world Biden Says Afghan Leaders Must "Fight For Their Nation" As Taliban Gains

The US president said he does not regret his decision to withdraw troops from Afghanistan(FILE) Kabul/Washington: Taliban insurgents ti...